Intel pegs Q4 '08 for 4-series chipset debut

Intel's upcoming 'Eaglelake' chipset family may not make it to market until Q4 2008, it has been claimed. But the wait does mean the products will all get PCI Express 2.0 support and the ability to host DisplayPort-connected monitors.

Taiwanese motherboard maker moles cited by Chinese-language site HKEPC made the claim. The Eaglelake chipsets - the P45, G45, Q45 adnd Q43 - had been expected to launch in Q2.

The four parts target Intel's 45nm processors, the first of which were launched this week. All four will support a 1333MHz frontside bus clock, but only the G45 and P45 will allow connected DDR 3 memory to run at that speed - the Qs are limited to 1066MHz memory. They can all play host to up to 16GB of Ram.

The P45 northbridge will support 16 PCIe lanes configured either as two x8 slots or a single x10 slot. That, the moles maintain, will allow it to suport AMD's CrossFire multi-GPU technology.

The integrated G45 will be able to host a single PCIe x16 slot, as will the Q45 and Q35. It will also incorporte HDMI support with integrated HDCP. No other chipset has HDMI, but the Q45 will also have integrated HDCP, suggesting it will be used for DVI connections. All three integrated parts will support DisplayPort, the sources claim.

The four chipsets will each include a variant of the ICH10 southbridge I/O chip. The report adds no further details, but it's been claimed in the past that it integrates a Wi-Fi controller and features 10Gb/s Ethernet. It may also support powerline Ethernet if past Intel pronouncements are anything to go by.